Special Years
by 1358456
Summary: A story based on Pokémon Special, the manga. In a time of peace, Black and White are attacked by a mysterious group with an incredible force. Realizing that they cannot handle the overwhelming power on their own, the two Unova Dex Holders attempt to recruit powerful trainers who will help them. Namely, the famous Dex Holders of the previous generations...
1. Kidnapping

**Welcome to my fifth and final story of my Special-series, Special Years (SY). I picked that title so I can add a letter to the end of current S-EARL (Special – Events/Adventures/Randomness/Lives) and still form a word. Now the series is grouped together into S-EARLY. And SY will be the last of the Special-series because I can't add another letter to the end of "EARLY" and still form a word. Or at least a word that doesn't sound too damn awkward. S-EARLY is already pushing it.**

**SY was designed to be the successor to Special Adventures (SA) and Special Lives (SL), but was changed at the end into something entirely different. It will not be succeeding anything. Though SY has nothing to do with its predecessors, I highly recommend reading all of S-EARL for various story mechanics and preferences that were described there that will be incorporated here. It will spare me the great effort of re-describing every mechanic/preference if someone brings it up.**

**Story wise, SY has the influence of both SA and SL. Meaning, SY will have multiple bad guys (SA), but still maintains a small Dex Holder focus (SL). As SY is closer to a spinoff, it will have faster pace than SA/SL and focus more on combat. But in order to maintain that small Dex Holder focus, some Dex Holders will not be appearing at all. That's the plan, at any rate. Those who have read S-EARL probably know already which Dex Holders will be canned.**

**SY will likely be the only story in which I use Age Relations Edition IV (as described on my profile page) as opposed to the more story-friendly Edition III (also in profile).**

**Since SY is set after BW and probably BW2, as stuff are revealed/confirmed, the corresponding stuff in SY will be magically updated off-screen unless that reveal/confirmation is groundbreaking. Since BW2 arc still only has the prologue revealed, everything in SY related to stuff in BW2 (Aspertia City, Pokéstar Studios, BW-BW2 attire change, etc) will merely be predictions.**

**Warning: SY will contain small scenes of blood, not entirely gruesome content, and some bad f*cking language.**

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Chapter 1: Kidnapping

Aspertia City, Unova, 12 pm…

It was a warm, calm, bright sunny day in the westernmost city of Unova. In such a nice weather, just about everyone was out of their homes doing something to enjoy the peace. The senior citizens took a slow stroll around the city while the parents took their toddlers out for picnics. Some children were forcefully dragged into the Trainer's School in the corner of the city while the other children ran around playing games. The teens… stayed home unlike everyone else.

One teen stood at the top of Aspertia's pride and joy, the Outlook, looking at the marvelous view of Route 19 while leaning against the protective rails. The teen was Aspertia's greatest pride and joy as well, who personally helped with the development of various public facilities. Though only 18 years old, the teen was offered to become the mayor of Aspertia, but she had declined the offer.

The teenage girl took a deep breath and stared into the calm distance, admiring the view of lush forests, crystal clear lakes, and tall snow covered mountains. Her pink cap protected her bright blue eyes from the sunlight so she had no problems in looking into the distance. Her long dark brown hair was tied into two long side-tails which gently moved with the calm wind. She wore a rather tight white shirt with blue elbow-length sleeves, long black skintight leggings, and beige skirt-like shorts over the leggings.

The girl was White. As one of the Unova Dex Holders, she had greatly helped in calming the crisis that involved Reshiram, Zekrom, and even Kyurem a few years ago. And as the president of the BW Agency and (as of last year) Pokéstar Studios, her reputation and popularity had skyrocketed. With all the money she made from the two companies, White donated a large portion to various charities in Unova and used majority of the remains into further developing her hometown. As a result, she had great firm reputation throughout all of Unova and was loved by everyone in her hometown. Some apparently loved her in more ways than one, evidenced by the amount of letters and emails requesting a date with her. Apparently they never got the message that she already had a boyfriend…

Her boyfriend was the other Unova Dex Holder, Black. A former employee of the BW Agency, he technically only worked for her because of his debt. White had to eventually 'let him go' when he completely worked off that debt. She was quite sad when she released him, but her depression turned into joy when Black immediately applied to become a full employee of the company. But due to the location of his home and difference in his goals from White's, the girl couldn't accept him. Instead, the two Dex Holders agreed to a partial employment. In every competition, Black would wear the BW Agency logo as a method of advertisement while White supported him financially. It was a deal that had existed before Black's debt was paid, but now it held since White had restarted her company. During the time they spent with each other, White had confessed her love for him, and the two Dex Holders have not been happier.

Due to the distance between their homes, Black and White remained in contact mostly through video calls and messages. They still met in person from time to time, but with White's company, the meetings became infrequent. As a result, White 'retired' from daily work and let her vice president take over. As the owner of the BW Agency, White still received money from the company's income, which was more than sufficient. And with the acquisition of the Pokéstar Studios near Virbank City, the income multiplied. Now, White met Black in person at least once every two weeks as opposed to the previous once per month.

White enjoyed her time of peace. She didn't have to stress over her company at all. She still checked every employee's performance record once a month and the company's progress once every two weeks to make sure her company didn't get screwed over. But she trusted her vice president's abilities. And to make sure everyone remained loyal to her, White gave raises to the employees with outstanding performance record on a monthly basis. The VP of the company received benefits whenever the company did exceptionally well.

Not long after the acquisition of Pokéstar studios, the people of Aspertia suggested that White become the new mayor. The girl had declined that offer, however, as she wished to remain peacefully unemployed. And the last thing she wanted was to get the other mayor candidates (who were around 3 times her age) upset with her. Getting into politics and such was not the best way to remain a hometown favorite. Currently, people of Aspertia liked her enough that the city's news reporters and cameramen did NOT follow her around. Instead, they respected her privacy and simply politely asked permission if they could take her picture or write an article on her a day prior to actually meeting with her. The citizens did not follow her around either. Whenever she walked by, they simply waved at her and she waved back. And White preferred to keep things that way. Becoming a mayor or anything like that would change things too much.

Today, White remained standing on Aspertia Outlook. Not only because she loved the view, but also because there was a Pokéstar Studios staff filming something in Route 19. As the owner of that company, she wanted to see what was happening without directly interfering. The movie being filmed was going to be a classic; White could tell. She couldn't wait to see it in the theatres (or at home, if the VP of Pokéstar Studios decides to send her a copy of the movie prior to theatrical release), and in order to avoid spoiling herself, White didn't want to eavesdrop or watch the filming _too_ much.

"Hey, Miss President!" came an all-too familiar voice from behind.

White jumped in surprise but quickly spun around with a bright smile on her face. "Black!"

The two Unova Dex Holders embraced and kissed. "Did you miss me?" Black asked once the kiss ended. He still kept an arm around White's waist and used the other hand to brush strands of hair away from her face.

"I missed you," the girl said happily. "I know you missed me too! But what made you come all the way here?"

"I wanted to know if you'd like to have a dinner date with me."

White checked her Xtransciever. "Sure, I'd love to. But isn't it a bit early?"

"I'm here to see Cheren and how he's doing in the Gym as well," Black said. "I came to find you first to see if you were available."

"Alright then. Sure, go check on your friend. You'll know where to find me when it's time."

Black kissed White goodbye and after taking a glance at Route 19, proceeded to climb down the stairs. The girl had a longing smile on her face as she watched him steadily disappear from her sight. Afterwards, she let out a content sigh and resumed looking at Route 19.

10 minutes later, as White was replying to a message the VP of the BW Agency sent her, there was a loud thud coming from Route 19 that seemingly shook the entire Aspertia Outlook. White quickly looked ahead and saw a large cloud of dust and even ominous mist billowing from where the Pokéstar Studios staff was filming. As she watched the cloud and mist, she heard Pokémon attacks and people screaming. And those were definitely _not_ a part of the movie.

White quickly sent her message to the VP and hastily made her way to the filming area with her Pokéballs ready. At the scene, she found all the Pokéstar Studios staff scattered on the ground, all knocked unconscious. White sent out her entire team and began to check on the staff's condition. But a low growl emanating from the thick mysterious mist quickly caught the girl's attention.

"Everyone, maintain a defensive position," White ordered her Pokémon. "And Barbara, try to clear that mist with gusts of wind!"

The Vullaby did as ordered and began to flap its wings towards the thick mist. But before it managed to clear the area, a powerful Ice Beam shot out from the thick mist and hit it directly.

"No!" White cried out as her Vullaby hit the ground as a frozen block of ice. "Amanda, Leaf Storm!"

The powerful Grass type attack managed to clear some of the mist while landing a direct hit on the Pokémon inside. But surprisingly, the attack didn't seem to do anything. Instead, it triggered another Ice Beam, which the Serperior barely managed to dodge.

'_Okay, I'm clearly up against some strong Ice type Pokémon,_' White thought to herself as she tried to come up with a plan. '_But I don't have any Pokémon that hits Ice types well…_' "Nancy! Water Pulse!" The Alomomola blasted the mysterious Pokémon with a strong Water Pulse. Once again, the attack seemed ineffective. White gritted her teeth and proceeded to get her entire team to attack at once. "Dorothy, Thunderbolt! Jessica, Leech Seed! Unibo, Psychic!"

In retaliation to the group attack, a blast of freezing cold wind swept at White's entire team, along with the girl herself. The girl's Pokémon all tried to protect themselves from the freezing cold wind. White dropped to her knees and tried to shield herself. She felt a thin layer of ice forming on her hair and skin and immediately dropped to the ground to expose herself less. Once the freezing wind stopped, White brushed off the forming ice with trembling hands and forced herself off the ground. Realizing that she was in the most difficult battle of her life, she reached into her half-frozen bag and took out her Pokédex. Since the thick mist cloaked the attacking Pokémon from eyesight, there was no way White would be able to even identify her enemy. The Dex Holder immediately frozen upon seeing her opponent's data.

"… No… No way…"

Just as the realization hit her, a massive Hyper Beam shot out from the mist, aimed directly at her. The girl's Serperior jumped in to intercept the attack, creating a large explosion that knocked White back several meters, forcing her to drop her Pokédex.

Meanwhile, in Aspertia's Trainer's School, Black stood by and watched as Cheren went on with his lesson. He didn't want to interrupt the class, so he patiently waited. Within a few minutes, there was a small break as the children went to get lunch.

"Hey, Cheren," Black called as he approached his childhood friend. "How goes the Trainer's School?"

"Oh, it's going great," the Aspertia Gym Leader answered with a smile. "White really helped us out again. Now with new textbooks and instructional videos, this school is doing better than I could've hoped for."

"How's the Gym?"

"Fantastic. With White's donations, our Gym no longer looks like some backyard. It now looks like an official facility! It even has brand new video cameras and projectors that records and replays Gym Battles for the sake of teaching."

Black smiled. "Great. You know, if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask."

"Oh, I know," Cheren replied. "But White's done so much for us already. I couldn't ask her for help again."

"Maybe you can ask Miss President for help that doesn't relate to the school or the Gym," Black said with a grin. "I mean… you look boring without your glasses. Maybe you can ask her for some fashion advice?"

Cheren smirked and shook his head. "Yeah… I think I'll pass on that. … Thanks for the… advice?" He put his glasses back on at Black's 'suggestion' and sat down on his desk. "You know, your girlfriend is something of an icon in this city. All the kids look up to her, all the adults are proud of her, and… guys around her age are in love with her. So be careful. You have a _lot_ of 'rivals' in this city."

"You included?" Black asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Of course not. I value her as a friend, nothing more, nothing less. Besides, she's with you."

Black shook his head and smiled. "Well, thanks. I'm sure those _rivals_ would know that Miss President loves me sooner or later. They probably won't be happy, but I doubt they'll do anything that'll affect her in the slightest. If she's an icon, then no one's going to bother her in the slightest, right?"

"Yeah. No one's going to upset someone who donates the vast majority of her money for the good of her hometown."

Just then, one of the students came running back inside. "Teacher, teacher!" she called desperately.

"What is it?" Cheren asked as he tried to calm the little kid.

"Miss… Miss White needs help!" the little girl cried out.

"What?" Black asked. "What do you mean?"

"She's being attacked by something! Please help!"

Black and Cheren took one glance at each other before they both ran out of the Gym as fast as possible. Not long after leaving the Gym, the two trainers heard a loud thud coming from Route 19. The two trainers quickly headed up north and came across the one sided battle immediately upon exiting the gate. Black stared in horror as White's Pokémon lay frozen solid on the ground, and the girl herself trembling violently while curled up face down beside her Pokémon.

Black quickly tried to rush over to check on her when an Ice Beam was shot out of nowhere to create a large barrier between the two Unova Dex Holders. Black and Cheren immediately sent out their Emboar and Stoutland respectively and proceeded to smash through the ice barrier.

White tried to push herself off the ground so that she could continue fighting her attacker. But it was getting harder and harder to fight due to the thickening layer of ice over her skin. Despite trembling violently from the cold, White maintained her fierce glare as her attacker slowly moved forward. The enemy trainer had returned his powerful Pokémon since White wasn't able to fight back and Black and Cheren couldn't interfere due to the ice barrier. With the Pokémon back in its Pokéball, the thick mist had disappeared.

Black's Emboar had just managed to smash through a tiny section in the ice barrier, just enough that Black could see through. He watched in horror as a man wearing a black mask approached White and forcefully dragged her up to her feet by her half-frozen hair. The man then wrapped an arm around the girl's iced throat and forced her to look at Black. The boy smashed a fist into the ice barrier while the girl watched helplessly. Just to screw with the Unova Dex Holders, the man used his free hand to grab onto White's arm and used it to wave at Black.

"Boar, Flare Blitz!" Black roared in anger.

"Stoutland, Double Edge!" Cheren yelled right after.

Just as the ice barrier broke, the masked man sent out another Pokémon: an Elgyem, which hopped onto his shoulders. And Black knew what was about to happen.

"No, no, no! Not again!" Black yelled just as he smashed through what was left of the ice barrier. "No!"

Just before he could reach out and save his girlfriend, the Elgyem used Teleport, causing itself, the masked man, and the hostage White to instantly vanish.

Cheren observed the carnage around him and returned his Stoutland. "Sorry, Black."

"Shit!" Black yelled in anger. He looked at White's fallen Pokémon all around, trying to figure out what Pokémon attacked her. He was about to send out his Musharna when he spotted the girl's Pokédex on the ground. He saw the entry displayed on the screen and took a look around in despair. He now understood how White was thrashed so easily. "… Kyurem…"

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**Oh yeah, spoiler alert. Black's Munna returns as a Musharna. Should've mentioned that. Whoops. My bad.**

**As mentioned, faster pace than SA. By a lot. … Maybe it's too fast…**

**For… 5% of those who read S-EARL prior to SY's release, you **_**might**_** have noticed a massive change to my profile page. No more news section. It has been moved into the chapters themselves, thereby creating an auto-archive. The profile now contains various statistics that'll be updated at… every update of S-EARLY. Apart from random stats, the most important/notable addition is the ETA to the next update. Not always accurate, but they're better than no estimate at all.**


	2. Friend to Foe

**For those who are wondering, yes the older Dex Holders will appear (as written on the **_**summary**_**). And yes, I know that they're going to be pretty old if Black and White are 18. That's why I don't like using Age Relations Edition IV (as written on my **_**profile**_**), which is why S-EARL doesn't use it. SY… is an exception. Because in SY, Red, Green, and Blue are **_**30**_**. And Ruby and Sapphire are 25. The bickering kids are all grown up! … Or are they? (Yes, they will appear). According to my plans, 5 Dex Holders will not appear at all. Those who have read all of S-EARL will probably be able to guess accurately 4 of the 5. Hint 1: They are those who I don't give a damn about. Hint 2: The only two Dex Holders who have yet to appear in SL are related.**

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Chapter 2: Friend to Foe

Somewhere in Unova, 12:30 pm…

White collapsed on the steel floor the moment she reappeared after forcefully being Teleported from Route 19. She tried to push herself off the floor, but couldn't. Her body was still iced over, her clothes were frozen, and she was quite disoriented, all of which hindered her movement capabilities. So instead of trying to move, she simply focused on her hearing. She could hear the footsteps of her kidnapper quickly fading away after what sounded like a solid steel door closing.

So she was locked in a steel room. Great. And she had no Pokémon or items with her. Fantastic. … And the steel floor was cold! Not helping with her ice problem… White shivered violently as she tried to push herself off the floor again. Her entirely body stung all over the place due to prolonged exposure to ice.

As the girl began to shake off the thin layers of ice on her skin, a few worries popped up in her mind. One, herself. Namely… she didn't want frostbite or anything that could hinder her appearance. She was still an icon in her hometown and appearing like crap wasn't what she wanted, ever. Two, Black. He saw her being taken and was most likely worried sick. He would come to find her, which led to her next worry. Kyurem. How the hell did her kidnapper manage to catch that? And unless Black knew what he was up against, there was no way he'd be able to save her.

But most importantly, what did the kidnapper intend to do with Kyurem and kidnapping her? As White proceeded to crawl towards the corner of the room, she began to think of the possible reasons behind her kidnapping. Ransom? It seemed most likely. But then why go through the effort of catching Kyurem? World domination? But then why kidnap her?

The third thought scared the hell out of her. Was it possible that the kidnapper caught Kyurem just to kidnap her? Did he intend to… _use_ her for his own… pleasure? White shuddered as she forced that thought out. She'd rather bite off her tongue and die than be forced to serve him…

As time passed and her body began to thaw, she felt sharp pain from all over the place. She curled up into a ball in the corner of the room and tried to withstand them. But the throbs helped her mind to focus and think properly. Now, only two theories seemed likely.

Either her kidnapper wanted to force her to sign a series of documents that would hand over all of her assets onto him (including company ownerships), or he intended to use her for dominating Unova. Since everyone in Unova knew her and quite a lot looked up to her, if her kidnapper decided to use her to force everyone to obey him, things could get quite problematic.

But none of that would happen if she died from heat loss. White tried to breathe some warm air into her hands. It wasn't all that helpful, but it was still better than nothing. As she tried to warm herself, a sudden thought occurred that heated her body through anger and frustration.

"Teleport-kidnapped again…" she muttered in between breaths. "I'm still too weak… I need to get stronger. And fast. I need Black to train me…"

3 hours later, as White rubbed her arms and legs to warm herself up, she could hear a set of heavy footsteps coming closer to her cell. Given the sound of the footsteps, she estimated that this guy must weigh around 3~4 times her own weight. So this guy was either really, _really_ fat, or really muscular and bulked up. If the guy was coming into her cell to hurt her, she hoped on the former possibility. That way, she'd be able to run away from him and he wouldn't be able to catch her. Otherwise, she hoped on the latter. A heavily muscular guy _generally_ meant he had little to no brains and therefore, easily convinced. And White had better chances of escape with a bulky guy helping her rather than a fat one.

When the cell door opened, White looked up and saw a heavily muscular guy looking at her. Given his size, she estimated that one of his legs would weigh more than her. And the guy's fist was as big as her head… But he didn't seem fast, physically and mentally.

"On your feet," the bulked up guard ordered, his voice… higher pitched than his physique would imply.

White didn't move. She felt perfectly fine huddled up in the corner and didn't want to comply with her enemy's orders. She doubted that she could get to her feet anyways. The muscular guard was quite impatient, as White found out. He stomped his way towards her and wrapped a massive hand around her throat. And before the girl could do anything, the guard lifted her off the ground and onto her feet. Without warning, he shoved her towards the open door.

"Move!" he ordered, even though he just pushed her out of the cell (and into the wall).

White leaned against the steel wall and glanced left and right. There were no evident hints at an exit, but the path to the right led to a map of the area. The Unova Dex Holder quickly formulated a plan. When the muscular guard came close, she would kick him right where it hurts the most and make a run for it. It was risky and bound to piss off her captors. But since they didn't kill her, they clearly wanted her alive. And White hoped that her escape attempt wouldn't change that.

The muscular guard approached her, ready to force her to her next destination. The moment he came close, White gathered all her strength to her right leg and kicked him between his legs, right in his private parts. When the man doubled over in unimaginable pain, she quickly poked him in the eyes and immediately ran to her right.

But it seemed that this massive guard wouldn't be fazed by such attacks. Even through the (literally) blinding pain, his thick arm shot out and grabbed White by her hair just before she ran out of arm's reach. The girl quickly spun around and tried to pull her hair out of the guard's massive fist. But before she could manage, the guard yanked her close and immediately thrust a massive knee into her stomach.

The impact knocked the wind out of White and she dropped to her knees, gasping for air. The guard took this time to recover from the girl's attacks. Once his vision cleared, he looked down, where he saw the girl lying on her side, trembling in agony with both arms wrapped around her stomach. With an angry growl, the guard reached down, grabbed the girl by her throat, and proceeded to drag her away.

A minute later, the guard arrived at a large, dark, circular room with a spotlight aimed at the center. He then tossed White into the spotlight and shut the steel door as he left. The girl hit the solid steel floor with a thud, and for over a minute, she remained lying face down on the floor, trying to catch her breath.

"Stand up," came an unfamiliar voice from somewhere.

While still on the floor, White proceeded to scan the area around her, trying to see where the voice was coming from. It was futile, as the rest of the room (which felt quite large, given the echoes in the voice) was still pitch dark.

With a grunt, the girl struggled up to her feet. With one arm wrapped around her stomach, she used the other arm to support her upper body by pushing down on her knee.

"… What do you want?" she demanded.

"To put it simply, you are going to help me take over Unova," the voice answered. "With your reputation in this region, my goals will be reached very easily if you were to work for me. People of Aspertia will follow you regardless of what they believe, and more and more people will gather and follow like iron filings attracted by a strong magnet."

"What makes you think that I'll help you? I'll never join you!" White yelled in anger. She immediately winced at the pain in her stomach. She slowly took a deep breath to calm herself. Anger was clearly not going to do any good any time soon.

The voice laughed. "Did you really think that I'd drag you all the way here just to ask nicely for your help? Of course not. I have various methods to _convince_ you. At the end of the day, you will help me, whether you want to or not. Even if you die, this will not change. Just holding you hostage would work well, as long as no one knows you're dead. But it's much more convenient for both of us if you stayed alive."

As another spotlight suddenly turned on, White felt a severe chill all over her body. And she realized what she would be facing before her eyes registered the being made visible by the new spotlight. Her kidnapper had just sent out Kyurem again. She took a nervous step backwards as the Boundary Pokémon stared at her with its blank, hollow, and (quite) creepy eyes.

White took another step backwards as Kyurem slowly stomped closer. Perhaps annoyed by the fact that the distance between them was not decreasing, the Boundary Pokémon created a wall of ice behind White, effectively preventing her from backtracking any more.

White realized her predicament and quickly looked for a solution. She suddenly felt an intense pain in her head and pressed her hands against her temples. As she doubled over in agony, she managed to take a glimpse of Kyurem and noticed that its blank eyes were glowing blue.

'_Kyurem's Psychic…_' she thought as the mental pain increased.

The Kyurem intensified the Psychic, forcing White to drop to her knees and writhe. The girl groaned as she twisted and contorted her body in a futile attempt to escape or lessen the effect of the Psychic. And to make the situation a whole lot worse, the power of Psychic tripled as two other Pokémon joined Kyurem. White couldn't see them as she couldn't open her eyes. Instead, exactly one more thought could pass through her mind before she lost consciousness altogether.

'_Black… hurry…_'

…

Meanwhile, Aspertia City…

…

Black paced around in Cheren's Gym while the Gym Leader contacted the other Unova Gym Leaders. As much as the Unova Dex Holder hated waiting, especially if it involved White, he knew he had no choice. He didn't know where the kidnapper went with Teleport. And with Kyurem, he also knew that he would be screwed if he went to fight it head on. But with the help of the other Gym Leaders and maybe even Elite Four members, the Kyurem might get distracted enough for Black to be able to rescue White.

Temporarily catching Reshiram and Zekrom might also be a decent idea, but capturing Legendaries tend to make things a hell of a lot worse than normal. So that idea would be reserved for the if-all-else-fails scenario.

Black groaned and slammed a fist onto a table nearby. He couldn't stand just waiting around when he knew White needed him. He took a look outside through the window. There was a large group of Aspertia citizens gathered right outside, demanding to know what happened with White. So the girl really was an icon in the city… More the reason to get her back safely!

Within a minute, Cheren exited his office and approached Black. He took a glance at the crowd gathered outside his Gym and sighed. Dispersing that crowd without a riot or White's presence was going to be a huge pain in the ass… And the last thing he needed was random citizens trying to find and rescue the girl on their own. Needless casualties do _not_ help the situation at all.

"Cheren! What happened?"

"Drayden and Iris called for a gathering in Opelucid City of every Gym Leader and Elite Four member," the Aspertia Gym Leader answered. "They have a theory on what White's kidnapper group is after, and they're going to need assistance in stopping them. But I've been told to stay here and make sure this city doesn't crumble apart."

"Why in Opelucid?" Black asked.

"They said that the kidnapper's possible next target is in Opelucid Gym. And if Kyurem is in control of the enemy, stopping him is going to be difficult."

Black let out a long sigh. He nodded at Cheren and quickly left the Gym. The moment he took a single step out of the doorway, a horde of people ran towards him.

"Where's Miss White?!" demanded the crowd. "What happened to her? Who attacked her, and why?"

Some of the people were getting a little too close and angrily, so Black pushed them backwards. "If I knew, do you think I'd be standing here like this?" He then sent out his Braviary and hopped on. "Get out of the way!"

Cheren came out of the Gym shortly after Black left and tried his best to calm the mob. The Unova Dex Holder needed… practice speaking to crowds without pissing them off…

…

Opelucid City, 6 pm…

…

By the time Black arrived in Opelucid City, the city was already under attack. Only a handful of Gym Leaders were present, using their Pokémon to attack something in a thick mist. The Unova Dex Holder immediately knew that the mist was from Kyurem. He quickly landed and sent out his entire team to assist.

"Black, we could use your help!" one of the Gym Leaders (Elesa) said after a brief glance.

Black noticed that the gathered Gym Leaders (Drayden, Elesa, Skyla) and… others (Iris) were having trouble in the battle against Kyurem. However, the Kyurem wasn't doing entirely well either. His assistance could actually help the Gym Leaders overcome the Boundary Pokémon, or at least push it back.

"Boar, Flamethrower! Tula, Thunderbolt!"

The two attacks joined together and hit the Kyurem in its thick mist, forcing it to jump in order to maintain balance. Now that the Boundary Pokémon wasn't in its thick mist, it couldn't evade the oncoming attacks as well as before.

"Excellent," the Kyurem's trainer yelled out from behind the Dragon Pokémon. "Your reputation is well deserved."

"You son of a bitch! What did you do with Miss President?!" Black roared.

"… Not too good on manners, though. Didn't your girl ever tell you that you had horrible manners?"

"Shut up!" Black yelled in anger. "Where is she?!"

"Inside a warehouse near the Opelucid Gym," the kidnapper calmly replied.

"Liar!"

The kidnapper shook his head. "Why bother asking me for her location if you're not going to believe me? I never lie."

Black thought of a reply, but couldn't. However, since the Opelucid Gym wasn't too far away, he could check it out pretty quickly… With clenched teeth, he left his Pokémon with the Gym Leaders and quickly ran towards the Gym. There was only one old warehouse nearby that had some old Gym layout equipment stored, so if the kidnapper really wasn't lying, then White would be locked somewhere in there.

He was quite skeptical though. No kidnapper takes their hostage around everywhere. And no kidnapper gives away the location of the hostage. Willingly, at any rate. But even if it was complete bullshit, he couldn't just let it slide.

Black arrived at the warehouse within 5 minutes. The door was unlocked, curiously. So if the kidnapper really was telling the truth, then either White was unconscious, or tied up so that she couldn't escape.

"Miss President?" he called the moment he entered. He kept the Pokéball containing his Braviary in his hand, in case the kidnapper had minions. But the whole warehouse sounded empty. There was absolutely no movement, anywhere. It was pretty empty too, so it wasn't going to be hard to scan the whole place. There was nothing in this room, but there was another door in the corner that was partially open.

There were footsteps going in and out of that room, clearly visible in the dust covered floor. There weren't any footsteps going anywhere else, so Black followed the visible trail. The moment he pushed the door completely open, he spotted White sitting on the floor, leaning against a large box. Well, damn. So the kidnapper really wasn't lying… But then why tell him?

"Miss President!" Black yelled in a mix of joy and worry. He quickly knelt beside the girl and shook her by the shoulders. She was breathing, but she kept her eyes closed. She didn't appear to be injured anywhere. Her clothes were damp due to the thick layer of ice that had formed all around her during her kidnapping. Black gently put a hand to her cheek and rubbed. "Miss President?"

White started to stir. Black almost jumped in joy. He gently brushed the few stray strands of hair away from her face and readjusted her cap so no other strands of hair could get in the way. White steadily opened her eyes.

Black froze. Something seemed different… Her usually bright blue eyes were… blood red.

"Black?" the girl muttered. Her voice wasn't any different, though.

"Yes, it's me. I'm so glad you're okay!" Black said happily. He decided to worry about the eye color shift later.

White suddenly narrowed her eyes and pushed him away from her. As Black stared at her for the sudden push, she rose to her feet and brushed off the dirt on her. And without taking a single glance at Black, she walked out of the room. He quickly followed her, wondering what was wrong with her.

He caught up with her by the time she exited the warehouse. Much to his surprise, he spotted the kidnapper and his Kyurem standing right outside, facing the gathered Gym Leaders and their Pokémon. The kidnapper must've moved the battle over here…

Much to Black's horror, White turned to face him with two Pokéballs in her hand. Since her entire team was with him at the moment, he wondered for a second what Pokémon she could possibly have. Then a theory popped in his mind that drained the energy from him.

The kidnapper had Kyurem. Drayden and Iris, the two people who know more about Dragon Pokémon than anyone else in the region, claimed that the kidnapper's next target would be in Opelucid. And Drayden had access to a certain device that Ghetsis-

White sent out her two Pokémon. Black froze as Reshiram and Zekrom appeared around him. His theory was correct… The girl turned away from him and walked towards her kidnapper. Now standing beside him, the girl faced the gathered Gym Leaders and her 'former' boyfriend, with all three Unova Dragons by her side.

"That's right," the kidnapper said with a grin. "Now destroy them."

White was about to order something to the three Unova Dragons when she suddenly pressed her hands to her temples. "N – No! I… I won't!" She looked over at Black and he could see that her eye color had returned to normal. "B – Black… hel-" she trailed off into a long pained groan as she doubled over. When she stood up straight again, her eyes were once again blood red.

"Black, focus," Skyla warned. "We need to hold them off until the rest of the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four arrive. Try not to think about White…"

"But… Miss President…" Black stammered. "… Miss President! Fight back! You can do it!"

White pointed over at him. "Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam," she ordered in monotone.

The Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem did as told. The three attacks merged together into one devastating attack. The Gym Leaders quickly jumped to the side to avoid the attacks. Black ducked under the attacks and pressed his body onto the ground to avoid the explosion that would follow when the attacks hit the warehouse.

White maintained her blank look as her hair swayed in the wind caused by the exploding warehouse. Black grunted as he got back up. All the Gym Leaders and their Pokémon were fine as well. The Unova Dex Holder looked at White, still having trouble believing what was happening. But he had no choice…

With hesitation, he sent out the rest of his team and White's entire team, which had been fully healed during the time spent in Aspertia City.

"I won't let you control her like this, you bastard!" Black roared at the kidnapper.

The kidnapper didn't say anything but maintained his grin. White looked at her team without any emotion in her eyes. Her team looked back, each with a look of worry and despair. The girl's eyes suddenly reverted to normal again and started to groan with her hands pressed against her temples.

"No! … No! I – I can't…" White groaned out in agony. Through her pain, she managed to make eye contact with her Serperior. "A – Amanda… Leaf Storm… on me!"

The Serperior hesitated but prepared to do as told.

"No! Stop!" Black quickly yelled.

In that moment of hesitation, White lost control again and her eye color returned to blood red. She pointed at her team and gave her orders to the three Unova Dragons.

"Fusion Flare, Fusion Bolt, Glaciate."


	3. Impossible Odds

**Note: S-EARL's Age Relations (Edition III) is confirmed to be inaccurate. However, S-EARL will continue using it due to their progress. SY and onwards will use the 4-Generations-accurate Edition IV. So for this story, all the age relations that do not involve Black and White are completely accurate.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Impossible Odds

Opelucid City, 6:15 pm…

"Fusion Flare, Fusion Bolt, Glaciate."

The moment White muttered those attacks, the three Unova Dragons responded. Reshiram and Zekrom flew up to prepare while Kyurem stepped forward. The Boundary Pokémon unleashed a wave of freezing wind, instantly covering Black's entire team with a thin layer of ice. Black and White's Pokémon both tried their best to fight through the thickening layer of ice. They had to fight through, as the forming layer was greatly hindering their movement.

Black shielded his face with his arms and tried to focus. He had to focus. Kyurem's Glaciate wasn't the threat here…

The Reshiram fired a giant ball of orange fire surrounded by small flames swirling all around at Zekrom. At the same time, the Zekrom had formed a large ball of electricity over its head. With the Fusion Bolt in place, it turned to face the incoming Fusion Flare. The two attacks merged together, creating a giant ball of swirling fire and electricity. With the two attacks, the Zekrom charged straight towards Black's team.

Black stared at the coming attack. There was nothing he could do. His and White's Pokémon were half frozen and they weren't able to respond to the attack. He couldn't escape either. But he couldn't just sit there face death…

Just then, a large group of Pokémon attacks came from behind and clashed with the mix of Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt. Black recognized some of the attacks as Shadow Balls from powerful Ghost type Pokémon. So it seemed that the Elite Four had arrived to help… But the assistance may not really matter.

The attacks created a giant explosion that knocked Black, his team, and White's team far away from the battlefield. White and her kidnapper were protected by an energy barrier formed by Kyurem.

During the explosion, White managed to fight through her mind control. She stared at the thick smoke and gasped. She stared intently at the smoke, trying to find any clues that proved Black's survival. But when the smoke cleared, she couldn't find anything. All she could see was Zekrom flying back to where Reshiram was.

"N – No! No!" she screamed out. "Black!"

She desperately scanned the area but couldn't find Black anywhere. She couldn't find his Pokémon, or her own either. Tears started to blur her vision as she believed that she had killed Black. When the psychic presence in her mind returned, she didn't put up any resistance as it tried to gain control over her.

Seeing that White was under his control again, the kidnapper let out a laugh. "Ah, the Elite Four has _finally_ arrived! … Destroy them. I will be right back."

Just as the kidnapper turned away to complete his objective of coming to Opelucid, White pointed at the Elite Four and the gathered Gym Leaders and gave the next order to the three Unova Dragons.

"Triple Dragon Pulse."

…

Black blinked a few times. Was he still alive? … Yes, by the looks of it. Unless it was possible to feel excruciating pain after death. That would suck ass. The pain was burning. It snapped him into focus. Even though his ears were ringing from the shock of that explosion, he could still hear a chaotic battle going on between the newly arrived Elite Four and the Unova Dragons. Black forced himself to sit up. He immediately noticed that his clothes were on fire here and there (hence the literally burning pain) and quickly put it out as best as he could. He was still burned quite a bit, which made movement rather difficult.

Black ignored the burning heat all around him and forced his body to stand up. He could see that he was lying on the remnants of the warehouse in which he found White. The warehouse was obliterated by the explosion caused by the mix of Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt. And the same explosion had sent him and his entire team into the walls of the warehouse. He'd ask how he survived later. There were more important issues to deal with.

All of his and White's Pokémon were scattered around him, all knocked out. Black returned all of them back to their Pokéballs. He turned his attention to the ongoing battle. Quite a lot of Opelucid citizens were gathered around the fight, but no one was going to do anything. Not that they _could_ do anything against the three Unova Dragons. But they didn't seem to _want_ to do anything. On one hand, there were the Elite Four and Gym Leaders who were fighting for good. But on the other, there was White. The girl's _huge_ popularity was preventing anyone from attacking or even doing _anything_ against her.

The Elite Four and Gym Leaders were getting thrashed. The only way to fight against Legendary Pokémon was to use _other_ Legendary Pokémon of equal strength. When the three strongest in Unova were joined together… well… everyone's screwed.

Black tried to think of something. A plan. _Anything_. But with his Musharna down and his mind only partially intact thanks to the devastation and explosion, nothing came up. All of his Pokémon were down. And he was barely able to walk right now. At best, he could… throw rocks and hope that a big one nailed the kidnapper in the head. But if he screwed that up, the rocks might hit White and that would be a travesty.

Speaking of which, where was the kidnapper? Behind Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem, only White was standing. The kidnapper was gone. That meant he was doing something that he planned to in the city. And whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

White gave another order. Black couldn't hear it due to the constant ringing in his ears, but the response of the three Unova Dragons implied that it was going to be devastating. The Kyurem stepped forward again and unleashed a massive wave of freezing cold wind and snow. Blizzard. The pattern was always the same. Kyurem would use some Ice type move that either froze or simply slowed down its targets. Then Reshiram and Zekrom would bring in the massive firepower. And this time, that firepower was simply devastating.

Both tail-generators of Reshiram and Zekrom powered up. The Reshiram attacked first. With its tail-generator powered up to maximum, flames started to erupt from its tail. With all the power it could muster, it opened its mouth and blasted a group of opposing Pokémon with a massive burst of blue hellfire. Blue Flare. The moment the Blue Flare hit, Zekrom followed up. With its entire body covered in a giant ball of electricity sparking all over the place, the Zekrom charged towards another group of opposing Pokémon. Bolt Strike.

Black watched the carnage unfold. "… Impossible," he muttered as he slowly shook his head. "This is impossible…"

But thankfully, this one-sided slaughter did not last forever. The kidnapper soon returned from wherever he went and stood behind White. The moment the girl turned to face him, she tried to punch him. He tried to block, but it was unnecessary as the girl stopped on her own. Black watched from afar and tried to understand what was happening. Clearly, White was still struggling. She probably thought she killed him with the mix of Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt. And now that her kidnapper was nearby, she was probably very, _very_ angry. Enough to temporarily break through her mind control.

The moment White threw that first punch, the citizens of Opelucid began to react. Now that White appeared to be on the same side as the Gym Leaders and Elite Four, they now had an acceptable target. The kidnapper.

The kidnapper realized that too. He quickly got the three Unova Dragons to return and after forcefully grabbing White by her throat, he got his Elgyem to use Teleport to escape from Opelucid. Although the three Unova Dragons granted him superior firepower against all of the Opelucid citizens put together, crushing them all would take time and energy. During that wasted time, the Gym Leaders and Elite Four were bound to recover enough to attack again. And if this pattern was to repeat indefinitely in every city in Unova, things wouldn't go nearly as well as planned. Keeping White under full control was necessary.

…

An hour later, undisclosed location…

…

White stared at the floor of her cell/cage in despair. She couldn't believe Black was dead. And technically by her hands too. That thought haunted her more than any other. She loved him so much, and now he was gone. And she technically killed him. White pressed her hands against her temples and shut her eyes. She couldn't handle the thought. There was no way she'd live the thought down. And what would she even do if this whole crisis ended? Without Black, there really wasn't any enjoyment in her life.

The girl frantically shook her head. No, she didn't kill Black. She was under control. Her kidnapper was the one who killed him. If she was going to blame herself, it would be for falling under the mind control. Black's death wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't…

White looked up when the door to her cell suddenly opened. Spotting her kidnapper, she immediately jumped up to her feet and lunged at him in anger.

"You killed him!" she cried out. "You bastard! You killed him! He was my closest friend, you bastard! I – I loved him!"

The kidnapper grabbed the girl's wrists so that she couldn't punch him. "Why are you pissed off at me for? _You're_ the one who killed him. _You're_ the one who decided to use Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt. I only ordered you to work for me. I didn't specifically tell you what to do. _You_ decided it was necessary to kill your own boyfriend. What say do I have in this?"

"Shut up!" White screamed. "Just stop! I didn't want to hurt him! It was all you!"

"Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. But you know better. I never told you to kill your own boyfriend. That was _your_ choice. If it's any consolation, once I'm done with you, I'll send you to him."

White clenched her teeth and tried to maintain her glare. But she couldn't for long. Thoughts of Black flooded her mind and the sorrow of losing him was too much. Her vision blurred as tears started to well in her eyes. White closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "… Hurry up then."

"As you wish."

White held her breath and prepared herself for the sudden wave of intense headache that would follow as a powerful Psychic type attack would gain complete control over-

…

Meanwhile, Opelucid City…

…

Black stared at the ground with a blank look as a small crew of paramedics treated him for his burns and injuries here and there. He looked up and took a brief scan of the area. Things were pretty damn hectic. There was an army of paramedics dealing with injuries sustained by all those who participated against the slaughter while a large pack of citizens were busy trying to clear the debris on the streets. There was even a small group of employees from the BW Agency who came upon hearing rumors of White.

One of the employees started to walk towards Black. The Unova Dex Holder looked at him and noticed that he looked the same age as him. The employee had yellowish green hair and green eyes and was kind of good looking.

"You must be the one who used to work for White in order to work off a debt," he said the moment he stood in front of Black.

"And you are?"

The employee extended a hand for a handshake. "My name is Curtis. I work for White in the BW Agency."

Black tentatively shook his hand. '_You work for Miss President yet you call her by name? Huh… Even I don't do that, and I don't even work for her…_' "What do you want?"

"We need to save White," Curtis said. "And I saw the results of you trying to save her with all the help Unova had to offer. It wasn't nearly enough."

"… And your point is?"

"Our only hope is to get help from other regions. On several instances, I was sent to the other regions in order to investigate possible business partners. In that process, I've heard about quite a few stories about powerful trainers who helped save their respective regions from disaster. I suggest we get their help."

Just then, Skyla came limping over, having heard the conversation from nearby. "That's a great idea. You could go and get help while we distract our enemy."

Black looked back and forth between the two and shook his head. "I don't see how a handful of trainers can do much against this kind of power."

"They aren't just normal trainers," Curtis assured. "They have more experience in battling Legendary Pokémon than all the other trainers put together. If anyone can make any difference, it's them. Besides, I believe White told you about them at one point. You two are Unova Dex Holders. The trainers I'm talking about are the Dex Holders of their regions."

Black looked at Curtis. "… How do you know all this? How do you know that Miss President told me about them? Are you the vice president of the BW Agency or something?"

Curtis laughed. "One day, maybe. But not now. I'm his son. And I'm… _close_ to White."

Black stared at Curtis, unable to fully comprehend what he just heard. Close to White? And she never mentioned Curtis before. What could this mean? … This was irrelevant currently, so he'll let it slide. … For now.

"So what do we do? Traveling all the way to the other regions is going to take quite a bit of time."

Skyla nodded. "Normally, yes. But since this is an emergency, I'll lend you one of my jets and two of my finest pilots."

"I don't think the other Dex Holders are going to like being crammed into a cargo plane," Black said as he looked over at the Mistralton Gym Leader. "And _your_ pilots?"

Skyla let out a laugh then winced. "Ow, it hurts to laugh… Anyways, don't worry. The plane I'm lending you is more of a private jet that I've been using for small commercial airline purposes. And by _my_ pilots, I mean my best two co-pilots who have been training to become full pilots. They'll be just fine. And in the meantime, we'll regroup and attack our enemy while avoiding a frontal assault. We'll try our best to maintain the status quo until you return with help. We'd be in a much better situation if the people of Unova were all helping us, but with White being controlled by the enemy, her popularity is really going against us. No one really wants to do anything that might harm her."

Black sighed. "I know. I can't fight her either. And that's why we need to get help."

"I will go with you on this trip," Curtis said. "I will give you my reports on the other Dex Holders we will be trying to recruit and you can decide who you want to meet first."

Black stared at Curtis again for a few seconds before he slowly nodded. "Let's do it."

* * *

**Yes, the Curtis here is the same Curtis from the BW2 games, just with a different job. His father is merely a creation within SY. No, Curtis will never be in any of the OTHER stories of S-EARLY.**


	4. The Lady

**In order to avoid receiving comments/messages that point out something that I already covered a long, LONG time ago, I have compiled all the covered information and posted it on my profile. As such, it is STRONGLY recommended that everyone read the compiled information prior to further reading any of S-EARLY. This message will appear in the beginning of the updates of all of S-EARLY.**

**Also, update on the Age Relations to Edition V. Check profile for details (MISC – Age Relations, Edition V).**

**And… (WARNING: BW2 SPOILER) No attire shift this time. BW2 player characters are separate characters from Black and White, named Rakutsu and Faitsu respectively (END SPOILER). Meaning, in SY, Black and White will revert to their actual clothes at a certain point in the story, but in a way that makes sense. Since it's too late, White's home will still be Aspertia, even though the real home is unknown. This message will be posted in stories that apply.**

**I did post a trial run of Rakutsu & Faitsu in SE #040: The Start of Something. Check that out if you wish.**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Lady

Mistralton City, 6:30 am…

Black stared at the private jet parked in the distance, waiting for Skyla's copilots to complete the diagnostics. The Gym Leaders had scattered to recover and track reported sightings of Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem. Nothing came up since the "battle" in the previous day. But that would probably change soon.

A set of footsteps from behind snapped Black out of his thoughts. He glanced back and spotted Cheren and Bianca running over. Seeing his childhood friends, Black forced his half-burnt and terribly sore body to stand up and meet them.

"Hey guys," he said with a painful wave.

Bianca waved back while Cheren simply nodded.

"Wow Black," Bianca said as she looked at her friend from head to toe. "You look terrible."

Black stared at her and blinked a few times. "… Gee, thanks," he started. "I feel _so_ much better now._ So_ good that I hardly feel the damn burns all over my body!"

"But considering how you took a Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt, you should consider yourself lucky," Cheren said. "Those two attacks could've caused a lot more damage than some minor burns."

Black shook his head. "Minor, huh? Sure. Luck. That's what it was. I can barely walk, but sure. Luck…" He let out a sigh and looked back and forth between his friends. "What do you want?"

"We heard that you were going away from Unova," Bianca said. "And we just wanted to wish you good luck. I know we need help to rescue White and beat the bad guys. So… good luck!"

"And be sure to keep us posted," Cheren said. "We'll give you routine updates on our progress too."

Within a few minutes, the private jet's initial diagnostics were completed and Curtis and Black boarded. Bianca and Cheren watched the plane take off before going their separate ways to deal with the Unova Dragons.

…

4 hours later…

…

Black got off the private jet and took his first step in the new region. He didn't know what region he was in, as he forgot to ask. He was quite busy taking a nap inside the plane in an attempt to speed up his recovery. It didn't help. Curtis followed him out of the plane and took a look around.

"So this is Sinnoh, huh?"

"So… who are we looking for?" Black asked.

Curtis checked his notes. "We are looking for the research assistant to Professor Rowan. She is also the daughter of the richest man in Sinnoh."

"So we're trying to recruit some ridiculously rich and probably spoiled girl? How's she supposed to be of any help? It's not like having a boatload of money is going to get Miss President back. And it's not like this girl is going to give a complete stranger a ridiculous amount of cash."

"No, no. We are recruiting her because of her talents. 7 years ago, she helped quell the rise of Team Galactic in their attempts to create a new world using the powers of Dialga and Palkia. 5 years ago, she helped stop the Team Galactic Resurrection. 3 years ago, she helped repel the Team Rocket Invasion. And a month ago, she single-handedly stopped the Bidoof Rebellion."

Black slowly nodded in approval. "Alright. So what's her name?"

"I don't know. Her name is not written anywhere in the articles. She's only referred to as Lady Berlitz."

"Great…" Black looked into the distance and spotted a giant mansion. "I guess she lives over there?"

"Perhaps. You go and ask. I will head over to Professor Rowan's lab and ask there."

Black shrugged and proceeded to walk towards the giant mansion. While walking, he took some time to look around. Maybe it was just this city or town, but things looked quite calm compared to Unova. Maybe this city or town was like Nuvema Town. He wondered what the Castelia City of Sinnoh looked like. Would there be as many skyscrapers?

A few minutes later, he spotted a girl exiting the Pokémon Mart. So it seemed that in Sinnoh, the stores were separate from the Pokémon Centers, unlike in Unova.

"Hey, excuse me!" he said as he quickly walked over to the girl, who looked about as old as he was. Maybe she was a little bit older. He couldn't tell. She looked at him and he temporarily froze. Were all girls in Sinnoh this pretty? It was a good thing White wasn't here. And she would never know. The Sinnoh girl here had long dark hair that reached to her waist, bright mix of gold and silver eyes, and perfect… curves. Black tried to focus on her eyes. The thin black vest and short pink skirt the girl was wearing wasn't helping him here. "Uh… do you know where the Berlitz family lives?" he finally managed to ask. But he couldn't help but notice that this girl was _really_ attractive. And she looked so elegant too. That short, short skirt and the tight vest looked so soft and expensive, like silk. And the white dress underneath was… _'No! No, focus! Think of what Miss President will do to you if she finds out!_'

"Why do you wish to know?" the girl asked. She didn't appear to have noticed him staring at her. And her voice was amazingly beautiful. Quite the contrast with White's voice. White's voice was cute, but this girl's was beautiful. Again, Black thanked the fact that White wasn't there. She would give him hell (and then some) if she found out about this. But she never will. Unless she suddenly became psychic. Damn. … Well, as long as Caitlin (or any other psychic human) didn't involve herself, things would work out.

"There's something I need to ask that family," Black answered.

The girl turned away. "I apologize, but I cannot tell you where they live."

"What? Why?" Black asked as he ran in front of the girl again.

"Informing random strangers any detail regarding the wealthiest family in Sinnoh may have serious repercussions."

The girl walked past him before he could say anything. Black stared at her for a few seconds before he headed towards the Pokémon Center. He thought about what that girl had said and understood a little. A very rich family would have to be a little paranoid in order to avoid things like burglary and kidnapping.

Inside the Pokémon Center, Black asked the nurse about the big mansion and found out that it was the Berlitz Mansion. He thanked the nurse and headed towards the giant mansion. As he approached, he could only guess exactly how wealthy the family really was. That mansion was enormous. It looked as wide as the shopping mall in Route 9 of Unova while being as tall as an apartment building. There couldn't possibly be enough family members to occupy this whole building.

Black approached the front gate and immediately spotted two guards who approached him.

"Can I help you?" one of the guards asked.

"Yeah, I'm from the region of Unova, and I came here to get help from the Berlitz family," Black answered.

The guards glanced at each other and one of them knocked on the front door. The other kept his eyes on Black, just in case. But a few seconds later, the Unova Dex Holder was allowed entry into the colossal mansion.

Black was led by a couple of servants into the guest room that was as big as his whole house. It seemed a bit excessive, but it would be a little understandable if the Berlitz family had lots of visitors frequently. The Unova Dex Holder took a seat and waited. A minute later, he spotted a girl carrying an empty plate walk into the guest room. Black immediately recognized her as that beautiful cold girl he met outside the Pokémon Mart. Seeing how she was carrying a plate, Black figured that she was a servant of the massive mansion.

"Hey!" he yelled out. "What the hell! So you knew about the Berlitz family! You're a servant here! You could've told me, and I would've told you the exact reason why I came here."

The girl made a hand signal to calm down. Black glanced to his left and right and saw the servants taking a step backwards. So this girl was a higher ranking servant, apparently.

"Why are you here?" the girl asked.

"I came here from the region of Unova so that I could get help from the Berlitz family. More specifically, I'm looking for the research assistant of Professor… Rowan, was it? Anyways, she's supposedly a Sinnoh Pokédex Holder, and is known as Lady Berlitz."

The girl stared at him for a few seconds before she nodded. "Very well then. Please follow me."

Black did as told and followed the girl as she led him towards the 3rd floor of the giant mansion. The girl remained quiet and Black did as well, as he was busy looking at the fancy, expensive decorations littered around everywhere.

Several minutes of walking and climbing the stairs, the servant girl stopped in front of a door.

"Please wait here," she said to Black before she entered the room.

Again, Black did as told. He spent the time by checking over the bandages wrapped around his arms. Those damn burns still hurt like hell. He put his hands to his face and felt the band-aids on it. He must look like crap right now. It was not the impression he had hoped to give to the previous Dex Holders. But surely this Lady Berlitz would understand his situation if he explained it to her.

Black had to wait several minutes before the door opened again. A different servant was there, and she let him into the room. He immediately spotted the beautiful servant girl sitting on a large comfortable looking chair with her hands on her lap.

"My Lady, your guest is here," the current servant said to the girl.

Black stared at the seated girl and realized that she wasn't actually a servant. She was the girl he was looking for. She was the Sinnoh Dex Holder and the daughter of the richest man in Sinnoh. And he called her a servant. Crap. She didn't seem particularly upset, but her expression was ice cold.

"You… you're Lady Berlitz?" he asked, completely dumbfounded.

Lady Berlitz nodded. "Yes. This is the third time I see you. And your impression of me was different each time, while my impression of you has not changed once."

Black quickly dropped to his knees and bowed. It seemed like the logical thing to do. Beg for mercy. He couldn't look up at her. Even though the Lady was just sitting on a normal comfortable chair, she appeared as if she was sitting on a throne. As long as there wasn't any execution order, he'd be fine.

"I think I made the worst first impression in the history of encounters," he said. "I'm so sorry."

The Lady didn't immediately reply. She simply stared at him until he looked up at her. "I will ask you for the third time. Why are you here? What do you want with me?"

Black took a nervous gulp and proceeded to explain his situation. Mostly about how this evil guy with 3 Unova Legendary Dragons kidnapped an extremely popular girl in Unova and had mind controlled her so that he may take over Unova. He figured that Lady Berlitz wasn't the type to be swayed by emotions (given how cold she sounded), so he left out the fact that the kidnapped girl was his girlfriend.

"So you require the assistance of previous Dex Holders in order to defeat the enemy," the Lady said after Black finished.

"Yes. Will you help me?"

The Lady sighed. "I apologize, but I cannot help you."

Black blinked a few times. "… Why not?"

"… Both of my parents have been involved in an accident and are in critical conditions. I cannot leave them at a time like this. I can temporarily leave the mansion in order to purchase supplies, as I have done when you saw me for the first time. But I cannot leave them for multiple hours straight. Several doctors have already come to try to help my parents, but none have made any progress."

Black sighed in disappointment. "I understand. You can't leave for Unova when your parents are dying."

The Lady closed her eyes. "I would appreciate it if you avoided using that word."

"Sorry. But isn't there something I can do so that you can help me?" Black asked. "I know your parents are clearly important to you, but… the girl that was kidnapped in Unova is my… girlfriend. I must rescue her. I tried to do so already with all the help Unova could offer, and look what happened to me."

"I understand your situation," the Lady said. "But I cannot leave at this moment. However, there may be a solution to this dilemma."

Black perked up. "What is it?"

"In the northeastern corner of Sinnoh, there is a large island known as the Battle Zone. In that island, there is a location known as the Battle Frontier. There is a very talented doctor who resides inside the Battle Frontier, who will only accept help requests after a satisfactory battle. He is very strong. I have sent several people to try to convince him to help, but none have yet to succeed. I would have challenged him myself, but I cannot leave my parents for more than a couple of hours. You say that you are a Dex Holder. Then prove your worth to me by convincing the doctor to come and help my parents. If you do so, I will be able to help you in Unova."

Black nodded. "I'm on it."

The Lady pulled out her own Pokédex and stared at it. "My two friends would have helped me. But they are in a very important comedy event in another region. I would have joined them if my parents were not in this situation." She then looked at Black with her beautiful yet ice-cold eyes. "If you are truly a Dex Holder, you will not have issues at the Battle Frontier. And if you succeed in bringing the doctor here, I will ignore the insult you have given me by addressing me a servant."

The Unova Dex Holder soon left to send a message to Curtis about what happened. Once Black had left, the Lady headed over to the room where her parents were staying.

"Mother? Father? I wish to enter," she declared outside the room.

The door opened after a short moment and the Lady entered. She quickly walked up to her parents beds, which were placed close to each other. Both of her parents had bandages wrapped up all over the place and had lots of medical equipment attached to them.

"Platinum," her mother spoke. "I heard you had a guest."

Platinum knelt in between the two beds and nodded. "Yes."

"What did that guest want?" her father asked.

"He requested my assistance to fight evil in the region of Unova," the heiress answered truthfully. "The enemy had supposedly kidnapped a very important figure of Unova using the region's Legendary Pokémon and aims to dominate the whole region."

"And did you accept the request?" her mother asked.

Platinum shook her head. "No. I will not leave you, mother. It is my duty to stand by and assist in your recovery."

"I thought we taught you well," her father said. "You should know that fighting evil is… also your duty. And it is more important than taking care of your parents. Back when you first left for Mt. Coronet, you had no obligation to fight evil, which was why I wanted you to stay away from the danger. But now, as a Pokédex owner, you have a responsibility."

"Yes. It is not possible to fulfill your public and familial duties at once," said the mother. "And in those cases, you must fulfill your public duties first. Go and help that guest in defeating evil."

"But mother," Platinum started. "I… cannot leave you like this."

"Be strong, Platinum," her mother said. "You can take care of yourself very well. You will have no trouble against this evil. And you will be able to return to us quickly. Do not worry about us."

Platinum lowered her head and wiped away the forming tears. "… Mother, father… I will do as you wish. But I cannot leave quite yet. I have sent the guest to the Battle Frontier so that he may be able to convince the skilled doctor there. Once the doctor arrives, I… I will leave for Unova. But I will return soon. Please stay well…"

After bowing to her parents, the heiress left the room and headed upstairs. She needed time to gather her thoughts, so she went up to her favorite place to think: the balcony on the 7th floor. Since Diamond wasn't around to comfort her, she'd have to stick with the cool breeze and the great view the balcony provided.

…

Few hours later, 4 pm…

…

Black gingerly got off of his Braviary and landed in front of the Berlitz Mansion once again. Behind him, a large eagle/hawk Pokémon known as Staraptor landed and a doctor jumped off. Black had managed to convince him in the Battle Frontier. It was much easier than expected. No battle was involved. There would have been one, but someone called the Castle Valet Darach had stepped in, saying that Caitlin demanded the doctor help Black. And even the battle-crazy doctor couldn't ignore the orders of Caitlin, apparently. Ah, the advantages of having powerful allies… even if it was temporary. There were no guarantees that Caitlin would help him once the Reshiram/Zekrom/Kyurem incident was over. But at least he'd have the other Dex Holders. And his alliance/bond with them would hopefully be a lot stronger than his with the crazy psychic lady.

Outside the Berlitz Mansion, Black spotted Curtis walking over.

"I see you succeeded in your task," Curtis said. "That's good. So we can be confident that we successfully recruited Lady Berlitz."

Black nodded. "Yeah. Hopefully, anyways. So who's next?"

Curtis checked his notes. "Lady Berlitz has two friends who are also Sinnoh Dex Holders. We should recruit them next."

"According to the Lady, that's not going to happen," Black said. "She said they're in a different region. And I didn't ask where exactly."

"… Okay then," Curtis muttered. "… In that case, we should head towards Hoenn next. We'll recruit the research assistant of Professor Birch, who happens to be his daughter."

"Another research assistant?" Black asked.

Curtis nodded. "Yes, but this one is quite different than Lady Berlitz. According to the reports, she was involved in an attempted kidnapping 5 years ago when a group of 12 men attacked her in an alley. She wasn't harmed at all and all 12 men ended up in the hospital, with the least injured one suffering from a shattered jaw and 9 broken ribs. And she wasn't using her Pokémon."

"… Wow."

"Pokémon-wise, she was involved in the famous Groudon and Kyogre incident 14 years ago, the fake-Kyogre incident in the Battle Frontier 13 years ago, the Lunatone and Solrock Invasion 10 years ago, and the infamous Spinda Crisis 7 years ago. Of course, her close friend-and-neighbor was also involved in every single one of those. We'll try to recruit him as well."

"Would that work as planned?" Black asked. "Right now, we only have 1 out of 3 Sinnoh Dex Holders with no more expected."

"Don't worry," Curtis assured. "According to the reports, these two are inseparable. If you find one, the other is usually nearby."

"That's good. Hopefully that'll work out better," Black muttered. "What are their na-"

"If you don't mind," a guard of the Berlitz Mansion interrupted. "The Lady is still waiting for you. This is very important to her, so get up there ASAP."

"Right."

Black quickly headed inside the Berlitz Mansion, where a servant led him towards the room where Lady Berlitz was currently staying. He found her standing on a balcony in the 7th floor, looking far ahead.

Upon declaration from the servant, the Lady turned to face Black.

"Oh? You have returned already?" she asked. She hadn't seen his Braviary as the balcony was facing the opposite direction of the Battle Frontier. "How did it go?"

Black smiled in pride. "The doctor is here," he said. "With the help of Caitlin, it was easy to convince him."

The Lady let out a sigh of relief as she placed her hands over her heart. She then bowed to him in gratitude.

"Thank you very much," she said. "I am in your debt."

Black simply looked at her, as he had no idea how to respond. Upon receiving fierce glares from the Berlitz Mansion guards, he quickly bowed in return.

"So," Black said. "Can you help me now?"

The Lady nodded. "Yes. But please give me a few minutes so I may talk to my parents one last time before I leave."

"Of course. I'll wait outside."

…

Black snapped out of his thoughts when the front gate to the Berlitz Mansion opened. He looked back and spotted the Lady standing behind him with her bag in hand. Her attire hasn't really changed from inside the mansion. But she now had a soft looking white hat and a long pink scarf. And Black could see the 8 Sinnoh Gym Badges pinned on the scarf.

"Are you ready, Lady?" Black asked.

"Yes," the Lady replied. "I, Platinum Berlitz, shall now join you in your efforts to save Unova."

* * *

**No, the "wonder medic" in the Battle Frontier does not really exist in the manga or the games. Well, in the games, there is someone similar in Cianwood City, who you need to visit to cure Jasmine's Ampharos in the GSC and HGSS games. But you don't need to battle him to prove your worth, as you only need to have beaten Chuck.**


	5. Grown Up or Not

**For those who noted on the difference in Platinum in the last chapter, that was done on purpose. Quite different from my other stories, right? Compared to the rest of S-EARLY, in which Platinum is 13 or 14 years old most of the time, she is 19 in SY. As such, she is more mature (in more ways than one, hence Black's reaction). Also, since she has yet to meet any of her seniors in SY, when she's upset, she won't act like Gold, and instead, be ice-cold. … The rhyme was completely unintentional.**

**Anyways, some Dex Holders may act differently in SY when compared to the other stories thanks to the age differences. Though some won't be all that different. Crystal, for example. 17 or 26, she'll act pretty much the same. Same for Ruby and Sapphire. Hence the title.**

**Platinum's personality difference is a trial run for the future. The others are not. Will explain later if required.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Grown Up or Not

"So, your name is Platinum, huh?" Black asked. He immediately received more fierce glares from the surrounding Berlitz Mansion guards. "Uh… how should I address you?" he asked quickly so that he wouldn't be mauled.

Platinum smiled just a little. "You may have just saved my parents' lives. You may address me however you wish."

Black glanced at the Berlitz Mansion guards. They were still glaring at him. One even made a signal by moving his thumb across his throat. Platinum couldn't see the threat, as that guard was standing behind her.

"I… I think I'll just call you Miss Berlitz. Or just Missy for short," Black said eventually.

"An odd choice, but as you wish," Platinum said. "Now then, what is your next course of action?"

Curtis looked at his notes. "We are going over to Hoenn in order to recruit two of the three Hoenn Dex Holders, who go by the names of Ruby and Sapphire Birch."

"How are we going to get there?" the heiress asked. "I imagine going over to Hoenn by boat will take far too long."

Black nodded. "Yes, which is why we'll be using a private jet. We used it to get here from Unova."

Curtis looked over to the side and pointed. "It's over there, if you want to see it."

Platinum looked where he pointed and saw a rather large private jet parked in the distance… with the pilots arguing with the police over a massive parking ticket, by the looks of it.

"Uh oh, that's not good," Black muttered.

"I shall go take care of that," Platinum said as she proceeded to walk towards the jet. Two of the Berlitz Mansion guards followed.

Once the heiress was out of hearing range, the other guards walked up to Black.

"Do not show any more disrespect to the Lady, understood?" the guard growled out.

"Y – Yes, sir…"

Curtis avoided eye contact with the guards and simply watched Platinum as she approached the police in the distance. The two policemen looked quite startled upon seeing the heiress and backed away from the private jet. She bowed to them and they hastily bowed back. After a few seconds of talking, the policemen left the two pilots alone and went about their business. The heiress talked a little with the two pilots before returning to Black.

"What did you say to them, uh… Missy?"

"I told them that the private jet has been called to Sandgem Town by me, and that all the occupants are my guests," the heiress said. "And I told them that I shall be paying for the parking violation fines of 100 000 PKD. Many parking rules have been violated, it seems."

"Really?" Curtis asked. "They seemed to be quite afraid of you, in a sense. Couldn't you just tell them to go away?"

Platinum shook her head. "Using one's status or authority to ignore or break the law is the first step of becoming a hated tyrant. I have no intention of becoming one. Also, I do have to set an example for all those who know me. They say that people act like those they serve. I do not want anyone working in my mansion to become arrogant simply because of the family they serve."

"… Wow," Black muttered. "When should we pay you back for the fines?"

"You do not have to repay me," the heiress answered. "In order to facilitate unit cohesion, we should not bother one another for minor instances such as this."

"Uh… thank you, Missy," Black said. '_Though I can't see how 100 000 PKD is __**minor**__._'

"Now then," Platinum said as she turned to look at the Berlitz Mansion guards. "I would like two of you to follow me, along with 4 of my servants. Everyone else, please take good care of my parents. And please update me on their progress once every 12 hours, at 10 am and 10 pm. But do not hesitate to contact me if anything happens. And if Diamond and Pearl return to Sinnoh and ask for my whereabouts, tell them what happened, and that I would appreciate it if they would stay with my parents. They would most likely call me directly, but it is possible that they would try to visit me instead. So keep this in mind."

"Yes, Lady."

Several minutes later, Platinum found herself sitting on a seat of the private jet, looking through the window at her home while the pilots prepared to lift off again. She silently wished for her parents' wellbeing as the plane lifted off and headed south. Black and Curtis repeatedly tried to cheer her up, but her expression remained dark. Only good news regarding her parents would cheer her up, it seemed.

8 hours later, the plane landed once again in another unfamiliar region. Black woke up when the pilots announced the landing, and immediately took a look around the plane to remember what was happening.

Curtis was shutting down his laptop and Black could see that the background was a picture of White standing next to the green haired boy. Again, he'll deal with that issue _after_ rescuing the girl.

On the other side of the plane, Black spotted Platinum staring through the open window with a closed book in her hands. She didn't seem to blink as her eyes registered the setting of the new region. Since it was past midnight, there wasn't much to see, but the heiress stared at the shadows of the setting anyways.

"Alright, so where are we now?" Black asked as he stretched his body.

"Since we're looking for the region's professor's daughter, I figured the best place to start is the town with the professor's lab," Curtis answered. "This is Littleroot Town. The professor's lab should be… somewhere around here."

"Okay. So we should just find some building that looks like a lab."

Platinum interrupted the two boys. "It is past midnight. We will be a nuisance if we visit the professor at this hour. It will be best if we spend the night at a hotel and then visit the professor in the morning."

"There are no hotels in Littleroot," Curtis said as he checked the map. "The nearest one is in… Petalburg City."

"Then we'll spend the night here. There are bound to be suitable places for camping, right?" Black asked.

"Probably."

Platinum slightly narrowed her eyes at the thought of camping in some unknown town in an unknown region, but let the issue slide. As Diamond and Pearl once told her, she couldn't expect to spend every night in some luxurious hotel no matter where she was.

Next morning, Platinum, Black, and Curtis headed towards Professor Birch's lab. The lab wasn't exactly hard to find. According to the map of Littleroot the heiress had purchased, there was only one building that was partially surrounded by trees, and that was the lab. Platinum found it curious that a lab needed to be so close to a forest, but… it was Hoenn. Maybe that was common here.

It was 10 am when the heiress reached the lab. Before knocking on the door, she checked her Pokégear and received situation update regarding her parents. Their conditions weren't getting any worse, but they weren't improving at the moment. Black and Curtis waited for Platinum to finish dealing with her message. The heiress let out a sigh and put her Pokégear away. She then spent a few seconds managing her emotions and expression before knocking on the door. A minute later, the door opened and Professor Birch appeared in the doorway. The heiress recognized him, as she had seen his face a few times during Professor Rowan's picture phone calls.

"Hello, Professor Birch," Platinum said politely as she bowed.

"Hello, there. Who are you?"

"My name is Platinum Berlitz, and I am an assistant of Professor Rowan of Sinnoh," the heiress replied. Normally, her introductions are much longer, but as Pearl pointed out one day, having a really long introduction can be quite annoying.

"Berlitz?" Professor Birch muttered. "I heard of that name before. So you're the daughter of Professor Berlitz who worked on the Green Orb all those years ago, right?"

"Yes, professor."

Professor Birch extended a hand and the heiress shook it with a bow. "Nice to meet you. So, what brings you all the way here in Hoenn?"

Platinum looked over at Black. The Unova Dex Holder stepped forward.

"We are here to ask your daughter for help," he said. "I'm from the region of Unova. It's currently under attack by a group of Legendary Pokémon and the trainers of Unova themselves are not strong enough. We need help from talented trainers from other regions. We understand that your daughter, as a senior Pokédex Holder, has experience in battling Legendary Pokémon and saving regions."

"Oh, Sapphire? Well, I suppose," the professor muttered. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sure she would help you, if she… well…"

"Is something wrong, professor?" Platinum asked.

"Let's just say that she has a bet going on with our neighbor Ruby and she's not going to back down or do _anything else_ until she wins the bet."

"Where is she, professor?"

"Probably in Route 119. Unless she's looking somewhere _completely_ wrong."

"If I may ask, what is the bet?" Platinum asked.

"I don't know. Something about finding Feebas. Ruby had one. It's a Milotic now, but he had one. If I had to guess, Ruby probably bet that Sapphire couldn't find a Feebas faster than him."

Platinum, Black, and Curtis soon headed towards Route 119. The private jet remained parked in Littleroot Town, as this trip did not require flying from region to region. Black used his Braviary, Curtis used his own aerial transport, and Platinum used the Staravia she borrowed from one of her guards. During the trip, while Black and Curtis wondered about how they would recruit Sapphire, Platinum thought about how… childish this trip was.

When Black tried to recruit her, Platinum initially refused because of her parents' conditions. But this Sapphire was likely to refuse because of some childish bet? How old was Sapphire to take a bet like this? Wasn't she supposed to be 25? The heiress certainly hoped that the other senior Dex Holders were not like Ruby and Sapphire. But since she did not meet them yet, she would reserve her judgment and try to see them in a positive light.

…

Route 119, Hoenn…

…

It wasn't raining in the route, for once. The sky was cloudless and strong sunlight poured down on the heavily vegetated ground. The thick and tall trees covered most of the ground, with the forest getting thicker north of the route, which may explain why Fortree City has every single building built on trees, except for the Gym.

The three guests of the region landed on the only road of the route. Platinum once again took some time to look around and note the differences between Sinnoh and Hoenn. The three guests then proceeded to walk towards the nearest body of water.

"Uh, Missy," Black started. "… What's a Feebas?"

"It is a small Water type fish Pokémon that evolves into Milotic," the heiress answered. "It is exceedingly rare. It is only found in certain waters, but only at very specific times that vary from day to day. Needless to say, finding one is a matter of luck or determination. You can easily find one if you search every cubic centimeter of the water in routes or areas in which they are found."

"And Sapphire is looking for one?"

"That appears to be the case."

"Damn it, where the hell are you?!" came a loud female voice from nearby.

Platinum, Black, and Curtis stopped walking and looked around for the source of the voice. They heard a splash coming from the left and walked over. They eventually spotted a woman fishing, with a huge pile of knocked out Carvanhas right next to her. She was wearing a red sleeveless one-piece with black shorts/spandex/leggings that reached down to her thighs, and had a red bandana wrapped around her head.

"Ha! Got you, you little…" the woman muttered as she pulled on her fishing rod. A Carvanha popped out of the water and charged at her with its teeth bared. "Damn it!" she yelled out in frustration. She still punched the flying fish with an uppercut, sending it flying off into the distance. "I'll fish up every damn thing living in this river if it means I can find a freaking Feebas!"

Platinum stared at the woman from behind, seriously hoping that this person was not Sapphire. The heiress unclenched her teeth and took a small breath.

"Excuse me," she said rather politely as she approaching the woman.

"Hm?"

"Are you Sapphire Birch?"

The woman turned to face her. She was surprisingly beautiful given her apparent personality. She also had very sharp teeth. "Yeah. Who are you?"

Platinum clenched her teeth again. "I am Platinum Berlitz from Sinnoh. I have come to find you… _senior_."

"Senior?" Sapphire muttered. She pulled the fishing rod out of the water and stood up. "… So what, you're a Dex Holder too?"

"Yes. We have come to ask for your assistance."

"Can it wait? I'm in the middle of something _really_ important here."

Platinum tried to stifle her disappointment. "… This is a matter of regional safety and security. It cannot wait."

Black intervened. "I'm from the region of Unova. Someone has captured the Legendary Dragons of the region and has kidnapped a very important figure. She's a _very_ close friend of mine and a fellow Dex Holder. I need to rescue her, but the Legendaries are way too strong. I need help."

"Unova, huh?" Sapphire muttered. "That's really far away. By the time I get there and come back, I'd have lost the bet and that smug jerk Ruby would gloat forever…"

"… Public duties come first, senior," Platinum said. "… I have left my parents, who are in critical conditions, in order to complete my duties as a Dex Holders. Your reasons for staying in Hoenn are puerile."

Sapphire narrowed her eyes. "Uh-huh. Well, if you're so high and mighty, I'm sure you won't need any help. Good luck with that."

Platinum looked over at Black and Curtis, silently asking if they should just leave. Curtis lightly shook his head. Black took a step towards Sapphire.

"We really need your help. Is there anything we can do to get you to help us?"

Sapphire crossed her arms. "Either go find Ruby and get him to put this bet on hold, or help me find a Feebas."

Platinum let out a sigh. "… Senior, if you intend to look for a Feebas, it is advisable to change your fishing location regularly. The Feebas do not stay in the same spot."

"This pile of Carvanha didn't come from this exact spot, you know," Sapphire retorted. "I've been fishing all around this section of the river all day so far. And for many days now."

"Don't you have any Water type Pokémon to help you?" Black asked.

"Well, I already sent out Relili my Relicanth into the water. I could send Wailulu my Wailord too, but that would just clog up the river."

Just then, something surfaced on the water and Sapphire turned to look. Noticing that it was her Relicanth, she quickly focused on it.

"Did you find any?" The Relicanth nodded. "Good. Lead the way!"

The Relicanth proceeded to swim and Sapphire followed it on foot. Platinum and the others followed as well. The Relicanth eventually stopped swimming and dived underwater again, indicating that the Feebas was found right there. Sapphire grinned and after removing her bag strapped around her waist, she simply dived into the water after it.

Platinum turned to look at Black and Curtis. "Perhaps this trip to Hoenn was a mistake."

"We need her," Curtis said.

"Well… give her a while," Black said. "You can't let the first impression be the only judge of character. I mean, I made the crappiest first impressions of all time and you're giving me a chance."

Platinum sighed again. "Perhaps you are correct. We shall see."

There was no sign of Sapphire in the water for 4 minutes after she dived in. Just as Platinum and the others were beginning to think that she drowned, the Hoenn Dex Holder resurfaced, carrying a knocked out Sharpedo in one hand and a Feebas in the other.

"Finally!" she yelled out. "A Feebas!"

Sapphire tossed the Feebas onto the ground and threw the Sharpedo away before climbing out of the water. She brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes and strapped her bag around her waist again. She returned her Relicanth, stowed the fishing rod away, and sent out her Tropius. With the Feebas in hand, she hopped on.

"Alright, Tororo, let's go find that sissy in Lilycove City!" Before lifting off, she turned to look at Platinum and the others. "Follow me and we'll sort this thing out."

Platinum sent out the Staravia she borrowed and grabbed on. "… There is nothing _to_ sort out. It is a very simple matter," she grumbled out silently, completely unaware that Sapphire had superior hearing and could hear her every word.

…

Lilycove City, 12 pm…

…

Sapphire looked down from high above and scanned the streets below. Ruby was in the city somewhere, probably doing some preparations for an event in the Contest Hall. Maybe he was partaking in a fan meeting. Either way, she was going to interrupt him.

As expected, Sapphire spotted Ruby standing by the Contest Hall, doing some autograph signing for his regular Contest fans. She quickly got her Tropius to land. Ruby was distracted by the group of fans and failed to notice. Good.

"Now, now, wait your turn," came Ruby's voice. "There'll be enough time for all of you."

Sapphire grinned and approached him from behind, holding the Feebas in her hands. Once she got close, she lifted the Feebas so that her face could not be seen and faked her voice.

"Um… can you sign my Feebas?"

Ruby turned to look at her. "Sure thing. A Feebas huh? Reminds me of Mimi before it evolved. So, what's your name?"

Sapphire grinned and lowered the Feebas. "Surprise, you sissy!"

Ruby jumped in surprise. "Sapphire! What are you… Wait, a Feebas?"

"That's right! I found one faster than you! I told you I would!"

Ruby stared at the Feebas and looked at Sapphire from head to toe. "… Why are you drenched? Wait… oh, now I see. You got your Relicanth to search for you, huh? That's cheating! I win by default!"

Sapphire snorted. "The hell you do! When you caught your Feebas, you had help from that swimmer guy! I still did it all alone, with nothing but Relili! I win!"

"But you cheated! You used your Pokémon!"

"Oh, picky, picky, picky. You cheated too! So I win!"

Platinum, Black, and Curtis landed nearby and watched the two Hoenn Dex Holders bicker like children. The heiress sighed again and put a hand over her face. Curtis simply watched in amusement, and Black took a step forward to try to stop them.

"Excuse me," he started. "But we're really in a hurry. You two can settle the argument later. Can you help us now?"

Ruby and Sapphire both turned to look at him.

"… And who are you?" Ruby asked.

"I am Platinum Berlitz, and he is Black," the heiress answered. "I am a Sinnoh Dex Holder and he is an Unova Dex Holder. There is a crisis in Unova and I have agreed to help. We require your assistance as well."

"That's another reason I came," Sapphire said as she looked at Ruby. "They want me to help them fight the Unova Legendary Dragons. Now that I won that bet, I have no reason to not go to Unova to help. Want to come too?"

Ruby crossed his arms. "Another regional threat, huh? I guess it's our jobs as Dex Holders. And hey, a free tour to Unova, right?"

"So I take that as a yes?" Sapphire asked.

"Well, if you're going, someone has to tag along to make sure you're not doing anything overly crazy. Since I won that bet, I have no reason not to go either."

"Keep telling yourself that you won, Ruby, if it'll make you feel better. Because we both know that I won."

Platinum rolled her eyes a little as her two seniors bickered some more. Curtis checked over his notes to see which Dex Holder should be recruited next. Black just watched the bickering, wondering if they would ever stop.

Everyone stopped when they heard a ringing sound, like an alarm or a Pokégear chime. Black looked at his Xtransciever and pressed the button to receive.

"Black, it's Cheren," came the Aspertia Gym Leader's voice. "Where are you?"

"Somewhere in Hoenn," Black replied. "What's wrong?"

"We found White," Cheren said. "She's still under control, but she's being much more aggressive. And Kyurem… changed."

"Wait, where are you?"

"We're in Opelucid right now. We'll try to stall White as long as we can. Get over here as fast as you can!"

Black's Xtransciever shut off and the Unova Dex Holder looked at everyone else. "… I think it's time we see what 3 additional Dex Holders can do. We're going to Unova."

"There is a plane parked in Littleroot Town. It will take us to Unova quickly," Platinum said to Ruby and Sapphire.

Ruby and Sapphire glanced at each other before shrugging. Sapphire sent out her Tropius again and hopped on. Ruby hopped on as well and the moment he did, Sapphire cast a quick glare at Platinum. The heiress ignored her as she got her borrowed Staravia to prepare to carry her.

Sapphire got her Tropius to lift off and clenched her teeth. '_Oh, I am going to show that smug, spoiled bitch what I'm capable of. Treat me like a kid, huh? Why that little…_'

At the same time, Platinum had similar thoughts as well and occasionally glanced over at Sapphire. '_In Unova, I shall show this Sapphire what it is like to be a true Dex Holder. She may be my senior, but she needs to act as such…_'

* * *

**And so begins the rumored/legendary/ancient/whatever feud/enmity/rivalry between Platinum and Sapphire in S-EARLY. When using their actual personalities, it's really unlikely that they would get into an actual feud. As such, one or more of their personalities are to be edited a little for this to happen. SY's rivalry will be caused by slightly editing both Platinum and Sapphire's personalities. So this enmity is both their fault, equally divided.**

**Black will refer to Platinum as "Missy" in SY only because of the **_**official**_** English translation (or something; don't care) of the DP arc, in which Diamond and Pearl call her that, and I need something unique. Diamond calls her "Lady" and Pearl calls her "Miss Lady" in S-EARLY. No one says "Missy". Now, I don't give a damn about the **_**official**_** English translations (as I say every now and then), hence Platinum's response of "odd choice".**


End file.
